


Someone Like You

by breathedeep222



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, Gen, Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Queer Youth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 21:27:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11906538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breathedeep222/pseuds/breathedeep222
Summary: When a young girl shows up at the Institute wanting to speak with only Alec, he realizes deciding to be out and not ashamed of himself has larger consequences than he could ever have imagined.





	Someone Like You

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little one shot based on the idea of Alec needing to take in all the queer Shadowhunter kids who's parents don't like them

Alec was out getting lunch with Magnus, taking a long overdue break and enjoying some time with his boyfriend. There had been an uptick in demon activity lately, so the institute had been very all hands on deck and Alec has been needed 24/7 to assign duties and fill out paperwork and update the clave. Things were dying down now though, and Magnus managed to convince him to come out and have lunch for at least an hour, saying Izzy and Jace could handle things for that long. Jace had insisted Alec go take a break, so after a bit of nagging from Magnus and his siblings, he finally agreed.

Which was ironic now, because not even half way through their lunch Jace was texting him to come back to the Institute. 

"Alexander?" Magnus asked with a frown, pausing in the middle of his story when he noticed Alec looking at his phone, concerned.

Alec sighed. Maybe he should be more worried that Jace was calling him back to the institute so quickly, but the selfish part of him was annoyed that he didn't even get a full hour to himself without something going wrong. "Jace is telling me I need to go back to the Institute." He could tell Magnus was disappointed and felt guilty even though he knew his boyfriend understood. There had been countless dates cut short because of Alec's duties, and Magnus always assured him he never blamed Alec for that. His leadership was one of the things Magnus loved about him, but it came with sacrifices. "Let me see if it's really important. Jace always calls when it's urgent, but he only texted me. Maybe it can wait a little bit."

He texted Jace back while Magnus went to see if they could get their food to go, also a common occurrence during their dates. Sure he could summon anything he wanted later, but Alec hated wasting food and always preferred to take his half finished dishes with him and eat them later. 

Jace answered him right away, and what he said made Alec even more confused.

**It's not URGENT but you have to come deal with it**

**There's a young Shadowhunter girl here and no one knows who she is or why she's here and she only wants to talk to you.**

**She doesn't look hurt or anything but it's weird. She's waiting in your office**

Their waiter returned with their boxed food and Magnus reached out and took Alec's hand, rubbing his knuckles gently. "What's wrong? Did someone get hurt?"

"I...I don't know," Alec said honestly, not knowing what to make of Jace's message. Before Magnus could worry too much he explained. "Jace says a young Shadowhunter girl showed up at the Institute asking for me. She refuses to tell anyone who she is or why she's here and only wants to talk to me. Jace said she doesn't look hurt but he can't be totally sure.

Magnus tilted his head. "Huh. Weird." He shrugged and stood up. "Well, there's only one way for you to know what she wants. You have to go talk to her." 

Alec stood up and followed him, grabbing his hand as they walked out the restaurant. "I'm sorry about lunch."

Magnus squeezed his hand and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. I knew what I was getting into when I decided to date the head of the Institute." 

"To be fair I wasn't the head of the Institute yet when we started dating."

Magnus snorted and rolled his eyes. "Please. You were born to run that institute, and you basically were when I met you. There hasn't been anyone better suited to the job."

Alec blushed, still not used to Magnus's constant praise even after all this time. They reached the alley where it was safe for Magnus to portal them back, so Alec pulled Magnus in for a quick kiss, cupping his neck and holding him close. "I love you," he said when he pulled away, forehead still pressed to Magnus's. He knew he had responsibilities to take care of, but he wanted a few seconds to take in his boyfriend and have him near. 

"I love you too," Magnus said and gave him one more kiss. "But there's a little Shadowhunter who needs your help. Duty calls."

Alec laughed and pulled away. "I know I know. Let's go."

Magnus pulled up the portal and they stepped through, Alec's mind already back into business mode.

\---

When they arrived at the Institute Alec asked Magnus to stay with him. He said it was in case the girl was hurt or need some other type of magical help, but they both knew it was because the situation was very odd and Alec was a little out of his comfort zone. They walked into the institute and Jace spotted him right away and walked over.

"Hey. I'm sorry about calling you back but she asked to talk to you and none of us know what to do."

"Where is she?" Did you get her name?"

"Your office," Jace answered, and they all immediately started walking in that direction. "And no, she won't even tell us that much. She really won't say anything besides she isn't hurt and wants to talk to you."

They go to his office and Alec opened the door, seeing the back of a young girl sitting in the chair in front of his desk and Izzy crouched down in front of her, a gentle smile on her face.

"Can I get you anything to drink? Water? Juice? Soda? We have everything."

The girl shifted away from Izzy minutely and Alec noticed his sister lean away from her slightly, clearly not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"I just want to talk to Alec," the girl said quietly. "When is he coming back?"

"I am back." He finally spoke up, getting the attention of his sister and this mystery girl. When she jerked around in the chair in surprise Alec was struck by how young she was. Of course Jace had said as much, but it was different when he saw her face and realized how much of a child she really was. She didn't look like she was more than 13, and she was on the small side, not that much bigger than Max. 

"I'll leave you two alone," Izzy said quickly, leaving the room. Jace left with her and closed the door, leaving only he and Magnus with the girl.

"Hello," Alec said, walking over to her and crouching down, taking the position his sister had been in earlier. "I'm Alec, the head of this institute. I heard you wanted to talk to me?"

The girl glanced at Alec and then behind him to where Magnus was standing in the corner. Alec looked over his shoulder at Magnus and looked back at the girl. "That's Magnus, the High Warlock of Brooklyn." He didn't feel the need to add "and my boyfriend." Alec's wedding had been the source of gossip for months, and he knew there wasn't a single Shadowhunter who was of speaking age that didn't know what had happened. "He can leave if you want to talk to me alone. I wanted to make sure first that you weren't hurt in some way and needed his help."

The girl shook her head, a few strands of her dark hair slipping from her ponytail. "I'm not hurt. He can stay though, I don't care." 

Alec looked back at his boyfriend and Magnus just shrugged, clearly willing to do whatever would make everyone more comfortable. Alec decided to let him stay and focused his attention back on the girl. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Carolyn," she answered quietly.

"It's nice to meet you." Alec put out his hand for her to shake and was surprised that, even though she seemed quiet and uncomfortable, she took his hand with a strong grip. He stood up and pulled his hair out from behind the desk, positioning it in front of and slightly to the side of her, not wanting to look too imposing. "What can I help you with?" he asked her.

"I..." she trailed off and start fiddling with her hands, rubbing them back and forth and digging her thumb into her palm. "I'm from the Ireland Institute." He immediately starting going through all the families he knew that lived in Ireland to see if he could place her, but with no luck. If Alec had ever met her family it probably would have been before she was born or a little kid, and he wouldn't remember her. 

"And what brings you here?" He asked gently, trying to coax her along.

Carolyn shifted in her seat, pulling one leg up underneath her. "Yesterday I...I tried to..." she paused again and took a deep breath. "I told my parents that I'm...that I like girls." 

Alec knew his eyes were as wide as saucers but he couldn't help his surprise. That was not at all what he was expecting her to say. He thought maybe her family was visiting New York and she had gotten into some kind of trouble, maybe got in a fight with a downworlder or something like that. He was not expecting _this_. "Okay," he said, a little lost for words and how to handle this situation. "What happened?"

She looked up at him again, as if she was checking his reaction, which was silly. He was the only out Shadowhunter still. It started to make sense to Alec why she asked to speak to only him.

"They weren't happy," Carolyn said, a small self-deprecating smirk on her face told Alec that was probably an understatement. "They accused me of just being bored and wanting attention at first. But, when I insisted, they told me to leave."

Alec took in a sharp breath and he heard Magnus do the same behind him. 

"They didn't say it exactly like that," she continued, anger in her eyes that Alec related to too well. "First they said I could forget about my training until I 'got my act together.'" He couldn't help a little smile when he watch Carolyn roll her eyes, glad to see this experience hadn't totally broken her. "My dad said there was no point in trying to train me when I was all messed up." 

Alec heard Magnus shift again and had to resist the urge to call him over and take his hand. Watching this little girl talk about what happened to her when they both knew those feelings so well was difficult. 

Carolyn paused, her eyes shiny liked she wanted to cry, but like a real Shadowhunter not a single tear fell. She just gathered herself and continued. "And I got upset and told them they couldn't stop me from being a Shadowhunter, that wasn't fair. And he laughed and said, 'what kind of Shadowhunter do you think you can be like this?' And then my parents said they didn't want to see me and that I should leave. So I left. I was going to go to Idris or something, but that question my dad asked was bugging me."

"What question?" Alec's mind was still reeling that this girl's parents kicked her out. Kicked out their own 13-year-old child, over who she was attracted to. 

She looked at him and smirked a little, looking like she knew something he didn't. "He asked me what kind of Shadowhunter I'd be being the way I am. I realized I could be like you."

Alec sat back, knowing the surprise must be written all over his face but he couldn't care. He knew what he did, being the only out Shadowhunter and not letting it affect his position or his abilities, was almost completely unheard of. But he never once thought about who might be listening. All the other Shadowhunters who were like him but too afraid to admit it.

"That's um...thank you. That's very kind of you."

She shrugged. "What you did was seriously badass." Magnus chuckled and she glanced over at him, looking more comfortable and open. "You crashing his wedding is the best part. That was fucking crazy."

"Language," Alec chastised, running on instinct, and then flushing when both Carolyn and Magnus started laughing. 

"Oh my god, seriously?" Carolyn said, speaking louder and genuinely smiling for the first time. 

Magnus was still snickering in his corner and Alec turned to glare at him before turning back to Carolyn. "What? Aren't you like 11? You shouldn't be cursing."

"I'm 13!" She yelled, her previous discomfort gone and replace with indignance. 

Alec had guessed as much but he knew accusing her of being younger would rile her up a little. Even though she was nervous and upset, and probably scared, he could tell from the way she talked and held herself she was normally very assertive and confident. She reminded him of Izzy a little.

"Well," Alec said, standing. "You are more than welcome to stay here." She hadn't asked, but he could tell where her story was going and besides, he could not handle leaving this child on her own. 

"Are you sure?" She asked, a little of the previous nervousness back. "It won't be too much trouble?"

Alec bent down and rested his hand on her shoulder gently. "Absolutely not. _Real_ Shadowhunters know that we never turn our backs on each other, and any institute is to welcome guest Shadowhunters with open arms. You can stay here for as long as you need, and you will continue your training. It would be a disgrace for talent to go to waste." He felt warmth when he saw the proud smile his words gave her. He started walking to the door and told her to follow him. He opened it and as expected, Jace and Izzy were waiting outside, burning with curiosity.

"Jace, Izzy, this is Carolyn. She will be staying at the Institute for now. Can one of you help her get settled?"

"Sure!" Izzy immediately volunteered. She stepped forward and put out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Carolyn."

While they got acquainted Jace was looking at Alec, clearing wanting to ask him a million questions. He just shook his head slightly, signaling they'd talk later. Jace nodded, and after a quick word to Carolyn to come get him if she needed anything, Alec went back inside his office. There were a million new things he had to take care of now, but first he just needed a moment. 

He strode over to the chair he had been sitting in and collapsed, putting his face in his hands. Magnus was next to him in a second, sitting on the arm of the chair and pulling Alec into a hug. 

"Are you okay?"

Alec shook his head and reached for Magnus's hand, squeezing. "She's _thirteen_ ," he said and felt his boyfriend running his other hand through his hair. "She's a little girl and they kicked her out. Her _parents_. What kind of people do that to their child?"

"Shitty ones," Magnus grumbled. He tilted Alec's head up and kissed him, running his hand comfortingly over his face when they separated and were leaning close together. "But she came to the right place. She has you now, so she's going to be okay."

Alec pulled his face away from Magnus's and leaned back a little, free hand gripping the arm rest in frustration. "I still can't believe that," he said, shaking his head. "Kicking your child out over something so trivial. It's a disgrace. She can live here for the rest of her life if she wants, I'd be happy to have her. But her parents better hope they never set foot in New York." Magnus hummed in agreement. "I'm really glad she can come here," he continued. He looked up at Magnus and cupped his chin. "I never thought about anything like this when I decided to kiss you."

Magnus smiled and placed his hand over the one Alec had on his face. "I know, but what you did was revolutionary, Alexander. You basically changed Carolyn's, and every other queer Shadowhunter kid out there's life. 

"I'd take all of them in," Alec confessed. "Every single kid who's parents think they can just throw away their child, I'd let them stay here. This institute could become the queer Shadowhunter capital, I don't care. I would make sure they all had a home."

"I know, Alexander." Magnus leaned down again and brushed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, stroking his hand along his cheek. "I wouldn't expect anything less of you."

**Author's Note:**

> Fin!


End file.
